FP+ Official Announcement

Take it with a grain of salt, everyone, but I had lunch with a friend who is a travel agent with a large national agency. She asked if I knew what would happen Dec. 6. Um, FLE opening? TT re-opening? I said. Something else, she said...the agency's rep had told them yesterday to expect a "big announcement" about the fastpass system that day. He didn't give them any other details. So let's see....

Yeah there is a "what's next" press conference scheduled I think for Dec 7(could be wrong) and FP+ as well as other next gen info is expected to be released.

From what I've read, FP+ is going to allow advance ride reservations before you leave home, but what they are doing is adding FP to rides like CBJ and Haunted Mansion so you can have X number of FP from a "group" of rides prior to leaving for vacation. It's almost like bringing back the A B C D E ticket idea.
Incorporated will also be firework and parade viewing areas apparently.

I just hope they don't muff it up for people who aren't type A planners. I'm local, I want to still be able to get a fastpass on any given day. Enforcing the return time is a big deal so they can give out more in a day and keep the lines manageable. We'll see how it goes.

From what I've read, FP+ is going to allow advance ride reservations before you leave home, but what they are doing is adding FP to rides like CBJ and Haunted Mansion so you can have X number of FP from a "group" of rides prior to leaving for vacation. It's almost like bringing back the A B C D E ticket idea.
Incorporated will also be firework and parade viewing areas apparently.

I just hope they don't muff it up for people who aren't type A planners. I'm local, I want to still be able to get a fastpass on any given day. Enforcing the return time is a big deal so they can give out more in a day and keep the lines manageable. We'll see how it goes.

Click to expand...

interesting. but would like to see how far in advance--90 days out 180 days out is this going to be? some people constantly switch their adr's, now giving them fp arr? how many will they allow before max out for that ride? the viewing areas--will it work like World of Color fp, where they issue fp for viewing area & you can still get fp for rides, not have to wait.

Is FP+ only going to be available to people who book through Disney? I.E. If I get my tix from UT and I stay offsite, I'm S.O.L.? (I'm guessing it will...)

Click to expand...

Maybe.

It could be they also handle it sort of like they do ADRs..where resort guests get some sort of advanced booking window or ability to book for their entire trip (180+10) a bit further out than non-resort guests.

I doubt where you buy your tickets will matter. Likely it will be where you're staying.

There were rumors, early on, that Disney further segmented availability and time frames by resort TYPE. In other words: Value resort guests got one set of benefits, mod guests got those + some others, and deluxe/DVC members got all those + some others. I don't THINK those rumors ever panned out or were confirmed during the testing phases, though.

There were rumors, early on, that Disney further segmented availability and time frames by resort TYPE. In other words: Value resort guests got one set of benefits, mod guests got those + some others, and deluxe/DVC members got all those + some others. I don't THINK those rumors ever panned out or were confirmed during the testing phases, though.

Is FP+ only going to be available to people who book through Disney? I.E. If I get my tix from UT and I stay offsite, I'm S.O.L.? (I'm guessing it will...)

Click to expand...

Zero inside info, but, agree with this assessment to some extent.

Putting the business hat on I would think they are going the way of many theme parks: Pay a increased Ticket Price, Stay on-site, eat at my restaurants, buy my merchandise and you get a perk! The real question: Why did it take them this long to figure out?

My daughter and I went to a local Six Flags park 7 years ago, and, I paid 20% to 30% more for 2 "Fast Pass Tix" for the entire day! Totally worth it - we spent zero time in lines. So, why is anyone shocked?

Disney, IMHO, is way behind the times on this option and is spending KaBillions (from what I have read on-line to create a new FP system) to catch up. Not a surprise to me!

My thoughts:

Not sure they would limit it to only Tix WDW sells. Could be wrong though. Who cares who sold the ticket? The true money is getting folks staying on Disney property and not at rival hotels.

Totally disagree with the UT theory. I have always believed that UT / AAA / Walmart / other re-sellers make nothing on selling WDW Tix. It gets you in the store, a membership perk, or, gives them an option to sell you tickets to the "Ye Olde Joust Fest Dinner & Pudding Extravaganza" in Kissimmee! Disney's price is Disney's price! I doubt they give anyone company a discounted price! Why? They don't have to!

I believe Universal started this 5 or 6 years ago?

I would guess this would be included in a AP. But, they would then raise AP Prices.

There is no reason they could not offer this upgraded feature to those staying off-site, for an upgraded Ticket Price / Fee!

Is FP+ only going to be available to people who book through Disney? I.E. If I get my tix from UT and I stay offsite, I'm S.O.L.? (I'm guessing it will...)

Click to expand...

There have been many previous rumors around this. They are already restricting FP return times as of March 2012, so that is already in place.

The rumors I've heard (and understand these not confirmed but some is based on the live testing done to date) is that the advance reservation of FP times would only apply to those with on-site hotel stays (a new on-site benefit) but would be the same regardless of hotel level. The more advanced the date of your booking, the more FP+ tickets you would get each day. (One possible example: 90+ days your get 4 of them, 30+ days you get 3, less than 30 days only 2.) As someone else pointed out, you will be limited in the ride/show selection choices. (Can't pick all three mountains, only one.) You may also have to select a time-range from a group of choices, though that's how they've been been doing the testing.

What I think can be said with a large amount of certainty that the initial implementation will only be at Magic Kingdom. That is where they seem to be focusing the efforts of installation the additional queues. The bigger question is, how/if they will limit the # of days you can book. Can I get 4 FP+ tickets for MK for every day of my trip, even though I clearly will not spend that much time there.

It will be interesting to see if they do roll it out with the expanded fantasyland. I could see them using the combined marketing muscle for next year: "See the new Fantasyland and do it with fastpass plus!"

I would be more excited at the idea of being able to book a character M & G. I don't mind waiting 30 minutes in line for a top tier ride, but can't stand the idea of waiting in line more than 10 minutes to see a character.

From what I've read, FP+ is going to allow advance ride reservations before you leave home, but what they are doing is adding FP to rides like CBJ and Haunted Mansion so you can have X number of FP from a "group" of rides prior to leaving for vacation. It's almost like bringing back the A B C D E ticket idea.

Click to expand...

If this is done, think about what this does for WDW as a business: While I think they have a pretty good idea how many heads are showing up any given day at any given park - their estimates become even more accurate.

This allows them to identify staffing requirements, how many Hot Dogs to purchase and how many Muffins to bake.

Could save them Millions in employee expense and wasted materials. These guys are not stupid.....

If this is done, think about what this does for WDW as a business: While I think they have a pretty good idea how many heads are showing up any given day at any given park - their estimates become even more accurate.

This allows them to identify staffing requirements, how many Hot Dogs to purchase and how many Muffins to bake.

Could save them Millions in employee expense and wasted materials. These guys are not stupid.....

Just to throw in an idea.... I never know what park I am going to on any day til I get up and ofter just go to bus stop and go to park bus that comes... I come for 3 weeks at a time and have no desire to plan any of it... but guess they don't care about me..

I really don't think it's going to actually work out the way people are predicting. That's just inconceivable... WDW would upset thousands, maybe millions by requiring them to schedule the rides they want months in advance. Surely it is going to be a pretty small percentage of guests who actually utilize the FP+ in that way. Also, are you going to have to have already purchased your ticket(s) for the days you are scheduling? If so, I'd say that the numbers of FP+ users will drop even further; if not, there will be a lot of people who probably won't even show for the days/times they have scheduled.

I really don't think it's going to actually work out the way people are predicting. That's just inconceivable... WDW would upset thousands, maybe millions by requiring them to schedule the rides they want months in advance. Surely it is going to be a pretty small percentage of guests who actually utilize the FP+ in that way. Also, are you going to have to have already purchased your ticket(s) for the days you are scheduling? If so, I'd say that the numbers of FP+ users will drop even further; if not, there will be a lot of people who probably won't even show for the days/times they have scheduled.

Click to expand...

Maybe.

But people said largely the same things concerning Disney's restructured ADR system, which allowed ADR's 180 days in advance.

If there's one thing Disney has learned...it's there's enough "obsessive" planners (and I count myself amongst them) to support these types of systems. Witness how quickly hard to get ADR's disappear at 180 days. Witness how quickly special events, able to be booked at 180 days, book up.

The demand is obviously there for this type of system for OTHER things. And if you're only offering a set number of FP's, amongst a few different categories of experiences...I think you'll find people are willing to buy in (figuratively, though maybe literally as well).

Putting the business hat on I would think they are going the way of many theme parks: Pay a increased Ticket Price, Stay on-site, eat at my restaurants, buy my merchandise and you get a perk! The real question: Why did it take them this long to figure out?

My daughter and I went to a local Six Flags park 7 years ago, and, I paid 20% to 30% more for 2 "Fast Pass Tix" for the entire day! Totally worth it - we spent zero time in lines. So, why is anyone shocked?

Disney, IMHO, is way behind the times on this option and is spending KaBillions (from what I have read on-line to create a new FP system) to catch up. Not a surprise to me!

My thoughts:

Not sure they would limit it to only Tix WDW sells. Could be wrong though. Who cares who sold the ticket? The true money is getting folks staying on Disney property and not at rival hotels.

Totally disagree with the UT theory. I have always believed that UT / AAA / Walmart / other re-sellers make nothing on selling WDW Tix. It gets you in the store, a membership perk, or, gives them an option to sell you tickets to the "Ye Olde Joust Fest Dinner & Pudding Extravaganza" in Kissimmee! Disney's price is Disney's price! I doubt they give anyone company a discounted price! Why? They don't have to!

I believe Universal started this 5 or 6 years ago?

I would guess this would be included in a AP. But, they would then raise AP Prices.

There is no reason they could not offer this upgraded feature to those staying off-site, for an upgraded Ticket Price / Fee!

Follow the money trail! A cheap way to make money.

Look, I have no clue - but - this makes sense to me.

Click to expand...

I would love it to be something guests have to pay extra for, rather than avaliable to everyone and included in a base ticket. I would totally pay quite a bit more to cut down on wait time.

There's a ton of pictures of the new Fantasyland Expansion, right at the bottom of the magic kingdom seciton, there's a picture of the Fastpass return time sign for the Great Goofini that says on it "Fastpass+ Entrance". I guess that's confirmation of what its going to be called, right?